Here's your rugby evening headlines for Friday, August 5.
New Scarlets coach reveals why he left Wales job for Llanelli
New Scarlets defence coach Gareth Williams has revealed how he was convinced to leave his Wales role and join Dwayne Peel's coaching ticket in Llanelli.
Williams had been working as part of Wayne Pivac's coaching staff with the men's national team, focusing on the breakdown area, but has now linked up with Peel at the Scarlets. Fixing the defence was a priority for the former Wales scrum-half after a maiden season as head coach was let down by an inability to consistently stop teams scoring.
Read more: Wales' pre-season fixtures in full as teams prepare for Anglo-Welsh showdowns
Williams is hugely excited at the prospect of taking charge of the Scarlets' defence after a number of different coaching roles, and the prospect of working with former schoolmate Peel was just one of the reasons he has opted for the change.
“I weighed a lot up after Dwayne’s approach to the union for my services," he told the Scarlets website. "Dwayne’s enthusiasm was infectious, but the quality of coaching conversations around session planning, tactical and technical approaches, and team and leadership development was hugely stimulating.
"Factor in the respect I have for Dwayne in what he’s achieved in his career, and growing up together, and it was an opportunity I needed to take. [The season] can’t come quick enough. I love coaching and competing.
"We have an exciting pre-season programme in place, but I can’t wait to get into the thick of the action and start taking the path through towards a successful URC and European programme, with our boys excelling at international level as well!”
All Blacks and Wallabies could fall to lowest rankings
New Zealand and Australia could fall to their lowest world ranking this weekend.
The Rugby Championship begins with the All Blacks facing world champions South Africa and the Wallabies heading to Argentina. After a series defeat to Ireland left them at an all-time low of fourth in the world, defeat by more than 15 points to the Springboks would see New Zealand drop a further place below England.
However, a much-needed victory would see them leapfrog the Springboks into third. The 'Boks can't move up beyond their current third place, but they can certainly close the gap on France.
As for the Wallabies, they could fall to a new low of eighth were Argentina to win, which would see Los Pumas jump up to seventh, while Wales would be pushed down to ninth as a result.
However, if Australia lose by more than 15 points, they would fall an extra place to ninth, while Wales would retain eighth spot.
Griffiths looking to pick up where he left off
Dragons flanker Ollie Griffiths is hoping to pick up where he left off when the season kick off next month.
The one-cap Wales international has struggled in the past to put a run of games together due to bad luck with injuries. However, the end of last season saw him get regular minutes and put together some impressive form - something he is keen to continue when the URC starts again in September.
“Last year was a decent year for me, certainly in terms of the games I played,” he told the Dragons site. “I finished in decent form so I’m looking forward to picking that up and getting down Rodney Parade.
“I’ve seen lots of pictures on Twitter and Instagram of the stadium and the pitch is looking brilliant so it’ll be good to get back on it. The 100 games for Dragons is not far away now so I’d like to get that ticked off by October. It’ll be a nice milestone for me to reach.”
The Dragons, who struggled last year as they failed to record a single home victory, face a tough start to the season, with Edinburgh, Munster and the Sharks first up on the fixture list.
“We have some difficult games in that first block, but the days of any easy fixtures in the URC are gone," he added. "It’s a tough league now. The boys are working hard and enjoying this prep period. Hopefully the pre-season games go well, and we start with a bang.”
No regrets over Kerevi Sevens call
Australia coach Dave Rennie insists he has no regrets about the decision to allow Wallabies centre Samu Kerevi to play Sevens in the Commonwealth Games after he suffered a serious knee injury.
Kerevi will now miss the rest of the year, including the upcoming Rugby Championship. While Kerevi wasn't due to play in the first two Tests against Argentina, he would likely have featured against South Africa and New Zealand.
Rennie said Kerevi was “desperate” to go to the Commonwealth Games after his experience at the Tokyo Olympics and Rugby Australia supported that call.
“It’s been really tough for him but I was part of the decision-making from the start,” said Rennie. “When I first spoke to Samu about coming back we checked; was he keen to be a Wallaby and he was, and was he keen to go to the Commonwealth Games and he was desperate to go to that.
“We thought it was a great opportunity to go and contribute and help them win a medal and so we don’t regret the decision. It was a bit of a freak injury and he does an ACL.
“We’re gutted for him, he was devastated but we don’t regret the decision for him to go as it was the right decision for Rugby Australia.”
Read more:
Today's rugby news as eligibility row erupts and new role for Welsh rugby boss
